Yes, we admit it. This blog post has a very inflammatory title. Just the idea that Robin Edgar be compared to Reverend Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who gained international notoriety for his plans to burn several copies of the Quran, sound outrageous.

All we can say is, go look at Robin Edgar’s latest blog post. When Reverend Paul Britner of the UU Fellowship of Montgomery is quoted by local media about Jones, Robin Edgar decides to change it into a quote about himself. Of course, it’s really “satire”, since his Emerson Avenger “persona” isn’t really him, but a “caricature” which he uses for “publicly exposing and denouncing Unitarian*Universalist injustices, abuses and hypocrisy” – satire so lame and desperate and bizarre, he needs to make a point of announcing in the same post that it is satire.

Terry Jones and Robin Edgar have at least one thing in common: they are so desperate for attention that they will say or do anything to get it. They are both bullies, going out of their way to pick on other people to make themselves seem bigger and more powerful than they really are, at least in their own egocentric mindfs. However, at least with Jones, you have some consistency. He makes his hatred of Muslims and gays very clear indeed, and does not equivocate one inch. Signs reading “Islam is of the devil” and “No Homo” could not be more clear.

Compare that with Robin Edgar. One day, holding signs in a one-person picket filled with outrageous accusations and insults against Unitarian Universalism. The next day, ranting against criticism of his tactics by insisting that he’s not against all UUs, just those who engage in “injustices, abuses and hypocrisy” – meaning, those who do not support him on his endless crusade, which ultimately means everybody.

As for crusades, it’s clear what crusade Jones is on. He wants to denounce Islam, homosexuality, and any convenient target based on a narrow reading of the Christian Bible (with a heavy emphasis on the Old Testament laws, and their harsh penalties towards so many “abominations”). And Robin Edgar? His crusade seems to consist of flogging the proverbial dead horse, demanding “redress” for an alleged event from almost two decades past. At least Jones’ crusade gives the appearance of being about strict adherence to religious commandments – while Robin Edgar has to struggle to show that his efforts are about anything besides self-promotion and self-righteous self-aggrandisement.

Last but not least, at least Terry Jones has an actual following, however small, and enough media smarts to get real attention, however undeserved. Who is behind Robin Edgar, or even paying attention to him? The fact that he would even need to engage in such pointless “satire” to manufacture the “appearance” of support, just to gain attention, answers that question all too tragically.